M’sian eatery in hot water after staff caught on camera washing dishes in roadside puddle

KUALA LUMPUR — More often than not when we frequent a restaurant, we hardly pay attention to what goes on behind the scenes.

If the front-of-house looks clean, generally we will not expect to be hit with certain 'surprises'.

However, social media unearthed an unpleasant incident concerning a popular banana leaf eatery in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

A video has gone viral depicting restaurant workers washing dishes in a puddle of dirty water by the roadside, behind the restaurant.

It was alleged that the incident took place at Raj's Banana Leaf.

The eatery has since been sealed by the authorities. “Gila punya restaurant (Crazy restaurant)... It will remain closed until they adhere to all of our regulations,” said Kuala Lumpur mayor Mhd Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz on Tuesday (May 29) .

Earlier, the restaurant issued an apology. "We would like to apologise for an unfortunate incident by our newly recruited staffs at our Bangsar outlet recently. This has never happened before, and should not have happened," Raj's Banana Leaf posted on their official Facebook page.

"We also want to assure you that Raj's Banana Leaf consistently passes the health inspections conducted regularly.

"We are very sorry by the regrettable actions by our new staffs and understand that is not acceptable," the statement read.

It also offered a complimentary buka puasa dinner at their Bangsar outlet on Thursday from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

The restaurant said they will continue to monitor their kitchen attentively and carefully, stating that hygiene and cleanliness are their top priorities.

Raj's Banana Leaf ensured that strict action had been taken against the staff members involved, assuring that such a thing will not happen again.

Saying that they understood the concern by customers, Raj's Banana Leaf expressed hope that 'you will still give us a chance to serve you in the future'.

Most users on Facebook were unconvinced, however, and accused the restaurant operator of scapegoating the cleaning staff. Many also called for the restaurant to be shut down. AGENCIES